John Rainey × Peter Richards

Face Off was shown as part of Rainey’s 2016 first solo exhibition in Belfast, On Visibility, which was developed for the Golden Thread Gallery’s Project Space. The exhibition marked a significant shift in Rainey’s practice: seeing him move from the creation of individual works as part of a series to works that both stand on their own and as elements of a larger installation; a way of working that Rainey has continued to explore since. When I first encountered Face Off, it appeared to be fabricated from latex or other malleable material. It lay draped over the powder-painted, black steel handrail, protruding from a band of matt-black paint covering the lower third of the gallery wall. Seduced by the subtlety and deadness of its’ perfect matt finish, I was drawn into a closer viewing. In that moment I engaged with the unsettling sense of doubt that pervades Rainey’s practice.
 
Peter Richards is an artist and curator based in Belfast, who has worked as the Director of the Golden Thread Gallery since 2001. He is chair of the Belfast Visual Arts Forum and secretary of Association Internationale de Critiques D’Art, Ireland.